Translated automatically by AI from the Italian original.
ROME / NATIONAL NEWS – A breakthrough in the investigation into the fatal collision that occurred last Friday on the cycle path of viale Angelico in Rome. At around noon today, a 51-year-old man presented himself voluntarily at the Carabinieri station in Rome Trastevere, admitting he was the rider of the electric scooter that struck and killed Professor Roberto Cervellati, 93, before fleeing the scene without stopping to help.
The renowned physicist and former ENEA researcher later died at Rome’s Agostino Gemelli hospital from the serious injuries he sustained. The public prosecutor in charge of the investigation, Andrea D’Angeli, will order an autopsy on the body in the coming hours.
Who was Roberto Cervellati: Italy’s Antarctic pioneer
The death of Roberto Cervellati leaves an irreplaceable void in the Italian scientific community. The 93-year-old was among the very first leading figures and pioneers of Italy’s national scientific expeditions to Antarctica under the National Antarctic Research Programme (PNRA), taking part in seven polar campaigns, including as mission chief.
From 1992 to 2006 he officially represented Italy on the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) expert group, also heading the sector tasked with creating the geographical dictionary of the frozen continent. In recognition of his outstanding fieldwork, the Cervellati Glacier, a vast glacier about 9.5 kilometres long in Ellsworth Land, was named after him in 2006.
Bloody weekend on Italy’s roads: victims from north to south
The Rome incident is part of a grim toll recorded on the peninsula’s roads over the weekend:
- Terni: A 21-year-old returning home on foot after a shift at a fast-food restaurant and a night out with friends was struck and killed by a van that careered off the road following a collision at a junction.
- Benevento (Campania): A 26-year-old from Airola died in the industrial area of Paolisi after his car overturned and left the road.
- Forlì-Cesena (Emilia-Romagna): A 21-year-old was critically injured when his car flew over 30 metres and plunged into the bed of the Savio river along via Montepetra between Mercato Saraceno and Sogliano sul Rubicone.
- Lecce (Puglia): A head-on collision on the state road between Lecce and Campi Salentina killed a 78-year-old man and seriously injured two other drivers, aged 44 and 49.
